04x08 - The Best of the Best

[bunniefuu]

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Today's mission
is to check out

Those creatures who are
the best of the best.

[Chris]
when it comes to proving
why these creatures

Reign
as the best of the best,

We're prepared to go
the distance.

[Panting]

[Martin]
we're talking the best runners.

[Chris]
we're talking the best leapers.

[Martin]
we're talking weird.

[Chris]
and we're talking about

Putting martin
to the test.

Whoa!

Woo!

The best-dressed
creature...

Chris kratt?

Check this out.

[Playing animal sounds]

[Chris]
we're going to listen

To the best singers.

I said bestsingers.

[Martin]
we're going to check out
the best swimmers.

To find them,
you have to put on
your scuba gear--

And dive!

[Chris]
all that and more

On this episode
of kratts' creatures.

Iarriba! Iandale! Iandale!

The creature world
is all about survival...

And competition...

Both of which are
really interrelated.

I mean, to survive,

You have to be able
to compete and win.

But when
you're competing,

Sometimes being good
isn't good enough.

That's why
today's mission

Is to check out
those creatures

Who are the best
of the best.

Like the best
jumpers...

[Chris]
the fastest runners...

[Martin]
the biggest eaters...

[Chris]
the best eyesight...

[Martin]
the best beaks...

[Chris]
the best set of chompers...

[Martin]
the best singers...

[Chris]
the best dancers...

[Martin]
the tallest creatures...

And the biggest!

[Trumpeting]

And how did they get
to be the best?

By specializing.

Specializing?
I'll buy that.

But if you're wondering
why some creatures

Specialize at doing one thing
better than other creatures,

All you have to do is
look at the cheetah.

Exactly, al!

So to survive,
the cheetahs specialize...

In speed.

Cheetahs are
the masters

Of the high-speed
chase.

A cheetah
can catch prey

That a wild dog, a leopard,
and a lion can't.

A cheetah can sprint

Up to 72 miles
per hour,

Which makes him the fastest
hunter on the savanna

And the fastest
creature on land.

[Allison]
so I know why

The cheetah's so fast,

But I still have
one question.

How does he do it?

I know that cheetahs are amazing
sprinters and all that,

But how did they become
the fastest runners?

[Martin]
it's all in the way

The cheetah's designed.

Look at the way her spine
bends like a spring.

It gives her
a really long stride.

[Chris]
and check out her tail.

Look at the way she shifts it
from side to side for balance.

That lets her take sharp turns
without losing chase.

[Martin]
so she's not just fast,

She's agile.

And another cheetah
specialization?

Acceleration!

Believe it or not,
a cheetah can go

From zero
to 45 miles per hour
in just 2 seconds.

That's faster than
the best formula I
race car.

In plenty of ways,
animals have humans b*at.

Hey!

[Engine revving]

So the cheetah's
the fastest land animal,

But what about the air?

There's got to be a faster
creature in the air.

You got it, al,

Because speed isn't only
helpful on the ground.

It also helps
in the air.

Take the peregrine
falcon.

It soars high
up in the sky...

Spots its prey...

Then swoops down
for the k*ll.

[Chris]
a peregrine in a dive

Can clock


This makes him
the fastest diver in the world.

[Martin]
and the fastest
creature, period.

[Chris]
his sweptback, pointed wings

Are like the wings
on a jet plane,

And he holds them in
as he dives,

Making him as aerodynamic
as a rocket.

[Martin]
the peregrine's specialty

Is fast diving.

It plucks birds
from the air
in midflight.

But some birds
can set speed
records

Without using
their wings at all.

[Martin]
herons might not be able to dive

As fast as
a peregrine falcon...

[Chris]
or run as fast as a cheetah...

[Martin]
but if you have patience

And keep a sharp
lookout...

[Chris]
you might just catch a glimpse

Of why herons are considered one
of the fastest creatures around.

Check out
those moves!

Martin's going to go
head to head with the heron,

The fastest beak
in the creature world.

Looking good, bro!

He doesn't have
a chance--

Not without the heron's

Best-of-the-best
beak-bobbing equipment.

Check out the long,
muscular neck on the the heron.

When a heron pinpoints
potential prey

Like frogs or fish,

He thrusts his long neck
like a spear and snags it.

Plus, martin lacks
the heron's long legs

And long,
specialized toes.

They really help the heron

Creep up stealthily
on his prey.

With that amazing
hunting equipment,

Herons can spear fish
in less than half a second.

[Martin]
I didn't have a chance.

And not just birds
are fast that way.

How about reptiles?

Yeah,
the chameleon's
quick.

[Chris]
she's one revved-up,

Rocket-charged
reptilian racer.

Sorry, guys,
I just don't see it.

A chameleon
is anything but fast,

Unless I'm missing
something.

Yeah. The chameleon
moves so fast,

You do miss it.

But not his body...

His tongue.

Man, I missed that
completely.

This I got to see again
in slow-mo.

[Martin]
to catch her prey,

The chameleon sh**t out
her 5-inch sticky tongue,

Zaps her prey, snaps it back,
and gulps it down...

[Chris]
all in about 40 milliseconds.

Now, that's one weird
creature specialty.

[Chris]
yeah, and creatures have

All kinds of specialized
body parts.

And that brings us
to our next category

For best
of the best--

Teeth.

Teeth?

[Chris]
they're the cutting edge

In creature
specialization.

You've got choppers...

[Martin]
grinders...

[Chris]
grippers...

[Martin]
shearers...

[Chris]
stabbers...

[Martin]
snippers...

[Chris]
and rippers.

[Martin]
so what's

All this dazzling dental
display all about?

It's obvious.

The creature world's
all about survival,

And survival's
all about eating.

Ergo, teeth become
seriously important.

Exactly.

In the struggle
to compete and win,

Creatures have evolved
specialized teeth.

Like this wolf.

She has
carnassial teeth,
which are perfect

For what she
needs them for--

Shearing meat.

[Martin]
but crocs and gators

Don't chew their food
like wolves,

So they don't need
carnassials.

[Chris]
instead, crocs and gators

Have specialized
conical teeth

For grasping and tearing
their food.

[Martin]
they tear their prey

Into small chunks

And then swallow the chunks
by throwing their heads back.

[Chris]
plus, crocs and gators

Put a lot of force
behind their conicals.

[Martin]
we're talking 13 tons

Of jaw force

To drive their teeth
into their prey.

[Chris]
chewing on prey

As tough as a turtle

Can really take its toll
in lost teeth.

You'd think after a while
they'd be all gone.

[Martin]
but crocs and gators

Have covered
that angle.

They're always growing
backup teeth.

When a tooth falls out,
another one takes its place.

[Chris]
by the time a gator or croc

Reaches 12 feet long,

It may have already
gone through 45 sets of teeth.

[Martin]
now, for the beaver,

Long, sharp front teeth
called incisors

Are the way to go.

[Chris]
they're crucial
for tree cutting,

Which isn't easy
on the teeth,

So a beaver's chompers
are constantly growing.

Grazers like horses,
on the other hand,

Have smaller incisors
for snipping through the grass.

[Martin]
and they have large, flat molars

To grind grass
into a pulp.

[Whinny]

Wait a second.
Those names sound familiar.

I have molars and incisors,
too, right?

[Chris]
you sure do, al,

But when it comes to teeth,
you're not a specialist

Like a crocodile
or a beaver.

You're a generalist.

[Martin]
you see, humans are omnivores.

We'll eat a large variety
of things--

Everything from fruit and nuts
to vegetables to meat.

[Chris]
when it comes to humans

Using their chompers
for chow,

It's a pretty simple
story.

With our varied diet,
we need a variety of teeth.

In so many ways,

Humans just can't compete
with other creatures.

We can't run
as fast as a cheetah,

We can't dive
as deep as a dolphin,

And we can't fly
as far as...

Hey, without machines,
we can't fly, period.

But there is one area
in which humans
can compete

With the best
of the best--jumping.

A human can jump
as far as 29 feet.

That's from here
to that sign.

But not just any human
can do it.

We're talking
olympic champions,

And top human athletes
can jump

As high as
this 7-foot, 8-inch bar.

Ugh!

O.k., So I'm
no olympic champion.

To jump that high takes years
of intense training,

But for some creatures,
it comes naturally.

It's their specialty.

[Chris]
we're talking about

The best jumpers
in the creature world.

[Martin]
and just who are they?

[Chris]
there are a lot of contenders

Competing
in this category.

[Martin]
the sika gets marks for style.

[Chris]
a squirrel monkey makes

Huge leaps
from tree to tree.

[Martin]
coyote--prince of the pounce.

[Chris]
when it comes to leaping,

The frog is one amphibian
who's tough to b*at.

[Martin]
so whether they're hopping,

Pouncing, twisting,
or leaping,

Jumping's a pretty cool way
of getting around.

[Chris]
and here comes

Africa's champion jumper--
the impala.

[Martin]
impalas specialize

In jumping
to escape predators.

[Chris]
they can jump 10 feet high

And leap
for a distance of...



That's 6 feet longer

Than the best human jumper
can do.

Even olympic champions
can't compete

With the best of the best
in jumping.

And there's

An even better
jumper

Than the impala--

A creature
that can leap 39 feet,

And he lives

Right here
in north america.

That's right--
the cougar.

[Chris]
like the leopard of africa,

The cougar of north america
is a master of the pounce.

[Martin]
the cougar's hunting technique

Is to ambush prey
with a monster leap

Of up to 39 feet.

[Chris]
with that kind of jump,

The cougar
has to be

The best of the best
in jumping.

I hate to do this
to you, chris,

But on a different
continent,

There's a creature
that can jump

Farther than
a cougar, an impala,

Or a human athlete.

The red kangaroo
from australia.

[Martin]
you know, all kangaroos

Are natural-born jumpers.

[Chris]
the kangaroo's hopping motion

Actually forces air
into his lungs,

Saving him a ton
of energy...

[Martin]
and giving him

Incredible endurance.

[Chris]
you want stats? We got stats.

The red kangaroo can jump
a whopping 42 feet.

[Martin]
wow.

Hey, let's review
the contenders.

Human.

Impala.

Cougar.

Red kangaroo.

When it comes to jumping,
the best of the best.

I wouldn't be
so sure about that.

Kangaroos may be
amazing jumpers,

But they're not
the world's greatest jumper.

You may need a microscope
to see it,

But according to this,
the world's best jumper

Is definitely
the flea.

[Allison]
hard to believe,

But the flea
is the best jumper.

Al's right.

If you look at how far
a creature can jump

Compared
to how big it is,

The flea is
a real winner.

A flea can jump
more than 300 times

The length
of its body.

Which would be
like me

Jumping from one end
of this stadium...

To the other.

The reason
it jumps so well

Isn't all that different
from why a cheetah's so fast.

Some insects get around
by flying,

But fleas can't,
so they specialize in jumping.

I'll bet there's a ton of power
packed in a flea's legs.

For its size,
the flea might have

The strongest legs
of any creature.

That's because
a flea produces

An elastic substance
in its legs,

So its legs
kind of work

Like an elastic
band...

Or a trampoline.

And now for a creature
demonstration.

Martin is going to
jump 335 feet.

That's the length
of this football
field.

And I'm going to do it
like a flea.

O.k., O.k., 10,









[Martin]
whoa!

Whoa!

Woo!

All right!

You jumped


I learned
one thing.

A flea is such
a great jumper,

It practically flies.

And now
on to the next
best-of-the-best.

The best-dressed
creature...

[Disco music playing]

[Car horns honking]

Chris kratt?

Well, maybe
chris isn't

The best-dressed
creature.

But I'm wearing these duds
for a reason--

To get attention--

Hey! Hey!

Because some creatures
specialize in getting it.

[Martin]
you can't help

But notice these creatures,
and that's the point.

They specialize
in attention-getting

Because it's crucial
to their survival.

[Chris]
most of these creatures

Don't want to get
the attention of a predator.

[Martin]
but some do.

They use a form
of really negative advertising.

[Chris]
like these poison-arrow frogs.

Their attention-getting colors
tell predators...

[Martin]
"I'm laced with lethal poison.

Leave me alone or die."

[Chris]
huge antlers and horns

Are another way some creatures
attract attention.

[Martin]
females want to mate

With the strongest,
healthiest male.

[Chris]
because growing humongo horns

Requires a lot of energy
and resources,

The male
with the hugest headgear

Is probably
the healthiest male.

[Martin]
that gets female
attention.

[Playing harmonica]

And some creatures
attract attention
by making music.

Some of the best music
you'll ever hear

Is from
the creature world.

Check this out.

[Animal sounds]

[Cawing]

[Bleating]

[Bugling]

[Chirping]

[Hooting]

[Screech]

[Growling]

[Croaking]

[Chirping]

[Screech]

[Growl]

[Chirping]

[Howl]

[Barking]

[Chirping]

[Snarling]

[Braying]

[Howling]

[Barking]

[Clicking]

[Chirping]

[Honking]

Some creatures
dance or sing,

And others put on
a spectacular show of color.

Wait a minute. This is
about the best of the best.

Some creatures specialize
in getting attention,

But that doesn't have
anything to do

With survival...
Does it?

Yeah.

A peacock's plumage

Is specialized
for survival.

He uses his beautiful
feathers

To attract
the attention of females.

[Chris]
at first glance,

The peacock's tail
of over 150 feathers

Doesn't look like
a survival specialization.

[Martin]
that's right.

After all,
his tail of plumage

Makes for a huge target
to predators.

[Chris]
it's so heavy and awkward

That a peacock
can't exactly escape

From predators
at lightning speeds.

[Martin]
plus, he has to spend

Half an hour a day
cleaning, preening,

And waterproofing
his feathers.

That's a lot of effort

Just to make his feathers
look good and healthy.

[Chris]
peacock plumage upkeep

Sounds like a lot
of work, and it is.

[Martin]
but for this bird,

A long tail of female-
attention-getting plumage

Is well worth the effort.

And female peacocks
are picky birds.

They pick the male

With
the best-looking
feathers

Because that means
he's probably
the healthiest.

This ensures
that the fittest peacock
will father her chicks,

And that is crucial
to their survival
as a species.

Wait. There's a flip side
to all this attention stuff.

If you're
that easy to spot,

Aren't you
in serious predator trouble?

That's why peahens,

The females
of the species,

Haven't specialized
in getting
attention.

Check them out.
They're pretty
drab-looking.

And it's intentional.

The last thing
she wants to do

Is draw attention to herself
and her babies.

[Allison]
o.k., We've covered speed,

Leaping,
and showmanship.

How about senses,
like the best night vision?

That's a hard call,
saying which creature

Has the best
night vision...

Because scientists
can't accurately
measure it,

But owls
and leopards

Are definitely
on the top
of the list.

[Martin]
nocturnal creatures like owls

Have eyes specialized
for night vision.

[Chris]
some creatures have big eyes

With large pupils
to let in more light.

[Martin]
nocturnal animals get

Extra help
from another specialization

Called the tapetum.

It's a special
reflective layer

Which lets them use light
more efficiently.

That really
helps them see

When night falls.

[Chris]
check out how their eyes glow.

[Martin]
that happens when the light

Catches the tapetum
just right.

[Chris]
of course, nocturnal creatures

Don't just use night vision
to get around in the dark.

They are also guided
by other supersenses,

Like hearing and smell.

[Martin]
but these impala supersenses

Won't help them much now.

[Chris]
they can't hide from the lion,

Who's one of the best

When it comes
to night vision.

Wait a minute!

I just found
the perfect example

Of a specialized
best-of-the-best creature--

The giraffe.

[Allison]
the giraffe is a browser,

Which means she forages
for vegetation in the trees.

To compete with other browsers,
the giraffe evolved a long neck.

Who am I kidding?

The giraffe evolved
a humongously long neck.

This allowed her to specialize
in reaching vegetation

Too high for other browsers
to chow on.

Standing 17 feet tall,
the giraffe

Is a superspecialized browser
who can't be topped.

More than that,

She's the tallest creature
in the world.

Giraffes are
the tallest animals
in the world,

But how about
the longest?

To find them,

You have to put on
your scuba gear...

And dive.

[Martin]
in water, an animal

Doesn't have to support
the weight of its body.

[Chris]
because in water,

You're virtually
weightless.

[Martin]
some of the biggest
creatures in the world

Are found underwater.

[Chris]
check out that stingray!

[Martin]
he's big, but nowhere as big

As the largest ray
ever found.

It was a 23-foot-wide
manta ray.

[Chris]
that's about the length

Of two cars.

[Martin]
hey, a giant clam!

These guys rank
in the best of the best

For growing
the world's biggest shells.

[Chris]
martin, check that out.

[Martin]
a jellyfish.

Now, they have no bones,

So they need
the support of water.

[Chris]
this guy's just a tiny squirt

Compared
to the giant jellyfish.

[Martin]
we're talking about

A creature
who ranks as...

The longest creature
in the world.

Giant jellyfish live

In the icy waters
of the arctic.

They can get to be


And have as many as


And those tentacles
are long--



If a giant jellyfish
were placed

On the roof
of this 20-story building...

Its tentacles would hang
down to the street.

[Allison]
imagine!

[Car horns honking]

[People screaming]

O.k., How about this
for a best-of-the-best?

Who's the biggest eater?
I'll give you a clue.

It's a herbivore,
lives on the savanna, and--

[Chris]
it trumpets?

How did you guess?

Well, he is
a big eater.

Every day,
the african elephant eats


Of plants.

And another big eater--
the asian elephant.

He eats this much--
eight bales of hay.

[Martin]
and that's not all

The elephant eats.

We're talking leaves, sh**t,
seeds, grasses, fruit--

Just about any vegetation
he can stuff into his maw.

[Chris]
he devotes 16 hours a day

Just chowing down
on veggies.

[Martin]
and when it comes

To cool creature
specializations,

Both the african
and the indian elephants

Have them--tusks.

[Chris]
the biggest tusks on record

Belonged
to an african elephant,

And they measured


[Martin]
hey, you know,

Tusks help
the elephant eat.

They're great for digging up
water, minerals,

And even taking down
branches.

[Chris]
but that's not all.

Both elephants use

One of the neatest
creature specializations

To eat that much--
the trunk.

An elephant's trunk
can grab tree branches

And pull the leaves
down close,

So the elephants can eat
a lot of leaves.

Wait. I think
I've got it.

The bigger the animal,
the bigger the appetite.

Not so fast, al.

Remember,
every creature
has an appetite

Specialized
for its own needs.

The elephant
may eat a lot,

But there's
a tiny creature

With even
a bigger appetite.

[Martin]
caterpillars.

A newly hatched caterpillar
has the most revved-up appetite

Of any creature
in the world.

[Chris]
it nibbles away at leaves

Or other plant food
almost 24 hours a day.

[Martin]
during their first month

Of life,

Some caterpillars eat
an amount of food

Equal to 86,000 times
their birth weight.

[Chris]
wow.

What if a human baby
ate at that pace?

I can't imagine how much food
that would be.

[Martin]
by the time she was 3 weeks old,

She would have eaten


[Chris]
amazing. How did you know that?

[Martin]
I did my research.

Hey, I wonder what
it would be like

If we were
that revved-up.

With an appetite
like that--

We'd be running
all over the place.

Here, there, everywhere,
always looking for food.

O.k., How about
this one?

Who are
the best travelers?

[Martin]
well, that's a tough one.

By foot,
feather, or fin,

So many creatures make
awesome travelers.

[Chris]
why do creatures travel?

[Martin]
one reason is food.

If your food sources
dry up,

You can stay put
and try to survive...

[Chris]
or you can travel.

[Martin]
some creatures gallop
to greener grasslands.

[Chris]
some wing it
to warmer weather...

[Martin]
while some swim

To superstoked stores
of aquatic food.

[Chris]
in other words, creatures use

Many modes of travel

To get where
the getting is good.

[Martin]
in the process,

They have evolved
some amazing specializations.

[Chris]
we're talking about

Bodies built
for travel, like...

The monarch butterfly,

Who flies up to 1,800 miles
each spring.

Or what about
the humpback whale,

Who swims over 2,000 miles
every winter?

Wait a minute.

The top prize has to go
to the arctic tern.

It says here they migrate
from the arctic to antarctica

And back again
each year.

That's about
a 24,000-mile round trip.

Or it could be
chris and martin.

Allison's right.

We could be in contention
for the best of the best.

Yeah.

[Martin]
so how many miles

Do you think
we've logged?

[Chris]
I don't know,

But we've got a lot
of ground to cover

If we're going to keep up
with that arctic tern.

[Cows mooing]

[Martin]
o.k., So where to next?

[Chris]
how about antarctica?

[Martin]
antarctica? Are you crazy?

That's 12,000 miles away.

[Chris]
so it's settled, then.

[Martin]
hey, forget it.

[Chris]
antarctica has penguins, seals.

Come on.

[Allison]
"the creature world

"Is an incredibly
competitive place.

"Every creature's
striving to keep

"One step ahead
of the others

"In the competition
for survival,

"And a ton of them do it
by becoming specialists.

That's what helps them
keep up."

And while I don't know
everything I want to know

About the creature
world yet,

I do know something
about the human world.

If humans are going to try
to keep up with creatures,

It isn't going to
be easy.

You can say that
again, al.

We've got
some stiff competition

In the best traveler
category.

And you've got to
be able to compete

If you want
to survive

In the creature
world.

We've got to hang in there
and keep on trekking.

And you know,
in our book,

Any creature
that survives
on this planet

Is a true champion.

Come on.
We've got a lot
of ground to cover.

We're trying
to catch up
with the caribou,

And they are
great travelers.

Guys, they migrate


Hey, like you said, al,

It's not easy to be
the best of the best.